How to Bewitch a Ghost Hunter (Waking up hitched SEQUEL!)
by Paintedwings77
Summary: Evie life is finally on track. She has a decent job in NYC, a nice apartment, a couple roommates and a quirky best friend. Until one night she has a strange encounter with a ghost with an ominous message for her. Looking for answers she turns to the internet where she meets Nick. A sinfully attractive ghost hunter, who is jaded and heartbroken. WAKING UP HITCH SEQUEL - GA story
1. Prologue

**_Note:_**

**_This story is a sequel to my other book, "Waking up Hitched in Vegas". Although if you have not read the other book, you can still read this as a stand alone book. Enjoy!_**

**How to Bewitch a Ghost Hunter**

**Prologue**

Evie sat up straight up in bed as if a bolt of lightning had hit her body. She clutched her chest as she gasped to catch her breath, like she had held her breath for the last five minutes.

She quickly brushed the hair from her eyes as a few beads of sweat dripped down her neck.

-"Just relax ... breath ..." She whispered harshly to herself.

She had that dream again. The one where it felt like a part of her just left her body. It was the strangest thing ever, and it was also the most terrifying thing she had to live through. It had happened twice before, and every time it the same thing.

She'd see a woman. Although she could never make out most of this mystery woman's features, the woman was young; probably the same age as her, she had long dark hair. The woman was also very frightened at the sight of Evie.

Usually the dream, or whatever the hell this was, only lasted a few minutes. It was brief, and no one but this woman was aware of her presence. Then right before Evie could even speak to her she was wrenched back here and was slammed back into her body.

Evie rubbed her hands over her face and threw the blankets off her body. She had to get out of here, get out of this room. She quickly put on a pair of yoga pants and grabbed her sweatshirt, seconds later she was out of her small apartment and walking. It didn't matter where she was walking too, she just needed to move.

As she walked the semi-crowded streets of New York City, she thought about the disturbing dream. Tonight's dream was different. She got to finally speak to the woman, but what was said was still fuzzy in her mind. All she could remember was an old house, which was crumbling and falling apart, and the young woman.

-"You're going to die." Evie had said in a distant, eerie like voice.

-"What?! What do you mean?" The frightened woman asked.

-"I'm sorry."

Evie shook her head and increased the pace of her walking as if she were trying to run away from the awful memory. She had told that poor, terrified woman that she was going to die. Who the hell did that? And why was she even having these strange, disturbing dreams?


	2. Chapter 1 - A strange Meeting

**_Chapter 1_**

**A strange meeting**

**_A year and a half later._**

It's not every day that you see a ghost, but you sure do remember that day when it does happen to you. It imprints in your mind.

I was alone in my classroom. It was a little after nine pm and I was finishing up grading the last of my tenth grade class exam. Using my IPhone and my favorite music app I blasted Pink in my ear buds. Everyone had left hours ago, even the janitors were long gone, but it was not unusual for me to stay so late. I lived with two roommates and this was the quietest place to get any work done.

I usually did not work alone though, Sophie typically stayed late as well but she was MIA for the evening. My best friend and English wiz, Sophie, was out on a date. I had come to New York City a couple of years ago after hearing of the history teaching position opening up at Notre-Dame private school. Everyone in my small hometown of Washington had advised me against it, that moving across the country to a big city was just foolish, but I was determined that I would not stay in the tiny town of Bridgewater forever. When I got this teaching job it put me one step closer to my dream.

As I finished up the last paper on the French civil war I stacked everything neatly on my desk and with a long stretch I stood and made my way to the teacher's lounge where I had left my jacket. Notre-Dame was a large school for both boys and girls, but it had originally been a school only for girl's years ago. I enjoyed it well enough, the students here were eager to learn and the staff was generally pleasant to be around.

As I got to the first floor teachers lounge, which was located right next to the office and the front doors. I turned the ceiling light on, only to notice that the ornate hanging light had two bulbs burnt out. Deciding I should probably change them because if I waited until tomorrow to tell the janitor I would probably have forgotten. In the attempted to search for a light bulb I went to sort through the "if it doesn't have a home, put it in here" box when I heard the front door open. Odd—I could've sworn it was locked from the inside and no one could enter unless they had a key.

-"Anyone there?" I yelled.

I didn't hear the door closing, so I put Pink on mute and took my ear buds out. I strolled out to see who had walked into the school. The streetlamps reflected through the school's large windows, the glare was so intense, I had to remind myself they were just lights and not some alien spacecraft come to whisk me away.

The hallway was empty.

Considering the possibility that someone might be hiding, I swallowed the dread climbing up my throat. Glancing around, I searched for something to protect myself with in case the said breaker-and-enterer decided to attack. My eyes rested on the broom standing not far from the office door.

The broom was maybe two steps from me. That might not sound like much, but my fear had me by the ankles and wouldn't let go.

_Evie, get the damned broom._

Thank God for that little internal voice of sensibility that always seems to visit at just the right time. Freeing my feet from the fear tar, I grabbed the broom and neared the counter which displayed some of the student's art. It was a good place for someone to hide—well, really, the only place to hide. The office doors were locked and no one would have had the time to run to one of the classrooms.

I jammed the broom over the glass counter and swept vigorously. Nothing.

The hairs on my neck stood to attention as a shiver of unease coursed through me. I couldn't shake the feeling and after deciding no one was in the room, I persuaded myself it must have been kids. But kids or not, I would have heard the door close. I didn't discard the broom though. Suddenly as if winter had crept into the room, a chill swept up the back of my neck. For some unknown reason, I glanced up and there he was, floating a foot or so above me.

Stunned, I took a step back, my heart beating so hard that I thought it would leap out of my chest.

-"Holy shit."

The ghost drifted toward me until he and I were eye level. I wasn't sure if I wanted to run or bat at him with the broom. Fear cemented me in place, and I did neither, just stood gaping at him. Even though I was terrified my brain was surprisingly focus. I started to go over every fact I knew about ghosts: they had unfinished business, they were stuck on a different plane of existence, they were here to tell us something, and most importantly, they were just energy. Energy couldn't hurt me ... unless they were demonic ... then I was in serious trouble.

I tried to regulate my heartbeat and breathe normally, I didn't want to show any fear. I returned my gaze to the ectoplasm before me. There was no emotion on his face; he just watched me as if waiting for me to come to my senses.

-"Hello," I said, thinking how stupid I sounded—treating him like every Tom, Dick or Harry who ventured through the school doors. Then I felt stupid that I felt stupid—what was wrong with greeting a ghost? Even the dead deserve standard propriety.

He wavered a bit, as if he was an old TV and the station was not coming in very well, but he still didn't say anything. He was young, maybe in his twenties. His double-breasted suit looked like it was right out from the 1930s if I had to guess. His hair was on the blond side, sort of an ash blond. It was hard to tell because he was standing, well ... no floating, in front of a wooden door that showed through him. Wooden door or not, his face was broad, and he had a crooked nose—maybe it'd been broken in a fight. He was a good-looking ghost as far as ghosts go … not that I would know if ghost were supposed to be handsome or not, this was a first for me.

-"Can you speak?" I asked, still in disbelief that I was attempting to converse with the dead.

Well, I never thought I would ever see a full body apparition. But he still said nothing, so I decided to continue my line of questioning.

-"Do you have a message from someone?"

He shook his head.

-"No."

His voice sounded like someone talking underwater. Hmm. Well, I imagined he wasn't here catch a class. Maybe he was passing through? Going toward the light? Come to haunt the school?

-"Are you on your way somewhere?" I had so many questions for this spirit but didn't know where to start, so all the stupid ones came out first.

-"I was sent here," he finally said and he gave me a smile.

Yeah, not a bad looking ghost.

-"Who sent you?"

It seemed the logical thing to ask. He said nothing and like that, vanished, leaving me to wonder if I had something bad to eat at lunch or if someone drugged my food.

**oOo**

-"So he was see-through?"

-"Have you seen him before?"

I looked from Sophie to Richard and wondered who I should answer first.

-"No, and no." I took a sip of my tea and checked the time on my phone. I had a class to teach in ten minutes and I didn't want to be late.

Sophie nodded and licked her thumb to turn the page to her fashion magazine.

-"I heard that this school is haunted for years." Sophie continued.

-"Weren't you scared?" Richard asked as he pushed his small glasses up his nose.

-"Not really. I just wish he would have answered more questions." I mumbled disappointed.

-"Well maybe next time." Sophie grinned.

-"If I had not been alone, maybe he wouldn't have showed up at all."

-"Hey, one of us has to date." She replied sassily, knowing full well that I had not been on a date in over six months.

An image of my last date popped into my head like a bomb. Let's just say I will never try the Internet dating route again. It wasn't that the guy had been bad looking—he'd looked like his photo, but what I hadn't been betting on was that he'd get wasted and proceed to tell me how he was separated from his wife and had three kids. Not even divorced! Yeah, that hadn't been on his profile.

-"Let's not get into this again…"

-"Evie, you need to get out. You're almost thirty-four…"

-"You sound like my mother ..."

-"Whatever…you're going to end up old and alone. You're way too pretty, and you have such a great personality, you can't end up like that. Don't let one bad date ruin it." Her voice reached a crescendo. Sophie had a tendency towards the dramatic.

-"I've had a string of bad dates, Soph."

-"Hey!" Richard voiced, looking up from his giant book.

-"I wasn't counting you, silly." I quickly said, giving him a bright smile.

He nodded but his shoulders had droop slightly as he shut his book.

-"I have class." He left quickly.

I sighed and mentally slapped myself for my insensitivity. Richard and I had gone out a few times, and he was a nice guy, but I just had not felt the sparks with him ... it was more like going out with your brother. I didn't feel anything romantic for him.

-"Poor Richard." Sophie sighed. "You should give him another chance."

I ignored Sophie. I didn't know what else to say—I was terminally single. It came down to the fact that I'd rather spend time with my cat rather than face another stream of losers. As for being attractive, Sophie insisted I was pretty, but I wasn't convinced. It's one thing when your best friend says you're pretty, but it's entirely different when a man says it. And I couldn't remember the last time a man had said it.

I caught my reflection in the glass of the desk and studied myself while Sophie rambled on about all the reasons I should be dating. I supposed my face was pleasant enough—a pert nose, very dark green eyes, making them appear almost forest green and plump lips. A spattering of very light freckles across the bridge of my nose among my pale skin, and my shoulder length blond hair always finding itself drawn into a ponytail. Head-turning doubtful, girl-next-door probable.

As for Sophie, she didn't look like me at all. For one thing, she's pretty tall and leggy, about five-nine, four inches taller than I am. She had dark hair the color of mahogany, blue eyes and pinkish cheeks. She was classically pretty—like cameo pretty. She was rail skinny and had just enough boobs to make all her clothing look perfect on her frame. I had a tendency to gain weight if I ate too much, I had a definite butt, and the twins are pretty ample as well. Maybe that made me sound like I was fat—I wasn't ... Well I could stand to lose twenty pounds.

Thankfully it was time for me to get to class. I grabbed my things and said goodbye to Sophie.

-"Maybe you should contact those guys that hunt for ghost." Sophie said suddenly before I left.

-"Huh?" I turned towards her.

-"Those three hot guys on TV that hunt ghost, they could find out what that ghost wanted from you."

I shrugged at the ridiculous idea and quickly left.

Class went by quickly. I loved teaching history. I had always had a passion for it, so when it came time to go to college it seemed like the best thing to study. But my history fondness soon turned to a dark subject. The myths and occult side of it. I was forever fascinated with old ghost stories and sightings. From old wife's tales of vampires and werewolves to old haunted cemeteries. I loved it all. Of course it was nothing I could teach but when I started a lecture I often found myself rambling on the old tales that were shared about whatever era we were covering.

Maybe my obsession had started when I was young ... You see I am very different. I can see auras. I have been able to since before I can remember. Every person has an aura. It changes from person to person, but generally a healthy person's aura was pinkish or violet. Someone who was ill had an aura that was yellowish or orange. It was just a small smoky like cloud that surrounded a person. But I had always seen it. Maybe my obsession was because I was hoping to find some answers as to what exactly I was...

**oOo**

By the time next week rolled around, I hadn't had much of a busy week. No more visits from ghosts, spirits, or whatever the PC term is for them. It was the week before Thanksgiving and I didn't overload my students with homework, mostly because I didn't want to be stuck correcting a bunch of papers.

It was once again that time of day where I had a couple of free periods. I should be getting things ready for what to teach after we came back from Thanksgiving break but I couldn't bring myself to focus. I had too much on my mind. The ghost encounter had really shaken me. Although I had studied everything I could on ghost and knew probably more than any one person should, I had never actually gone out and looked for a ghost.

As I entered the teacher's lounge the table was littered with photos that Sophie was arranging around as if they were puzzle pieces. I walked up behind her, only too pleased to find an outlet for my anxiety. The photo in the middle caught my attention first. It was a landscape of the Malibu coastline, the intense blue of the ocean mirrored by the sky and interrupted only by the green of the hillside.

-"Wow, that's a great one, Soph." I picked the photo up. "Can you frame it? I'd love to hang it in my classroom."

-"Sure." She nodded and continued inspecting her photos, as if trying to find a fault in the angle or maybe the subject.

Sophie had aspirations of being a photographer and she had the eye for it. I admired her artistic ability—I, myself, hadn't been in line when God was handing out creativity. I sat next to her with a sigh and she gave me a worried glance.

-"Are you still worrying about that ghost?"

-"I just don't understand, what did he mean by he was sent here?" I furrowed my brow.

-"I have no idea. Did you try contacting those guys?"

-"No."

Sophie gave me an annoyed look. She grabbed her phone and after a few moments she thrust it in my hands.

-"That is the website; they have a message board, just post and see if they respond."

I looked down at the screen; the site was a typical website with a very big forum full of posts, mostly from fan girls declaring their love for these guys. I glanced up at Sophie.

-"Seriously? No one is going to read this post except for their fan clubs."

-"Just post!"

-"How do you even know about this thing?"

I might have been knowledgeable about ghosts and history but I knew nothing about what was on TV these days. I rarely even watched the tube. Did they still call it that? I found more enjoyment in reading a good old research book, or hanging out with my roommates.

-"The locations they investigate are sometimes quite beautiful; I sometime watch the show to get some ideas on where I can take pictures next." She casually shrugged but I somehow suspected that she might have been a secret fan girl.

With a sigh I signed up on this website that claimed that one of the guys from Ghost Adventures would read each post every month. After creating a username I posted my experience and asked what I could do to find out what this ghost wanted. I pressed the send button and closed the website. I really did not expect anything to come of this.

* * *

-"Why the fuck do I have to go through these damn post?" Nick moaned like a spoiled child.

-"Because I did it last month, and Aaron did it the month before that. Now it's your turn." Zak pushed the laptop in Nick's direction.

-"Yes, but when you did it, I had to help you, so I think we should at least split the work." Nick pushed the laptop back towards Zak.

-"It's not my fault I had a bad cold and couldn't finish." Zak pushed the laptop again across the glass table. He then quickly got up and sauntered over to his living room, where Aaron was playing on the gaming system.

Nick sighed.

-"Whose fucking idea was this website anyway?" Nick grumbled.

Aaron peaked up from the couch at the same time Zak turned around.

-"Yours!" They both said at the same time.

Nick stuck up his middle finger at both his friends who chuckled at his annoyance. He briefly wondered why he put up with those two assholes but he then quickly reminded himself that they were more than just his coworkers, they were also his friend and had stuck by him through everything life had thrown at him the last few years. He really couldn't ask for any better friends, even if he didn't get to see them except when they went on investigations or on weekends like this, when they had some editing to do.

Nick lived in Boston, but he had lived in Las Vegas for a few years until his now estranged wife wanted to move to Boston where her family was from. But Nick was starting to reconsider coming back to Vegas. It would be easier to get work done and he really had no reasons to stay in Boston anymore. Nick had been married for six years. The first three years and half had been ... well great. But as time passed he and Jennifer had started to drift apart. She blamed his work, and wanted him to quit ghost hunting. When he refused she went and found comfort with another man when he was away on business. He had suspected she was up to something but he never had any proof until he came home early from an investigation ten months ago, he had an awful case of the flu and just wanted to crawl into bed.

But instead he had found another man in his bed and he had spent the rest of that week moving out of their spacious apartment, instead of nursing his cold. They were now in the process of a divorce but she was making everything difficult. She wanted outrageous alimony support and she refused to let him see their seven year old daughter, Emma.

Pushing aside the sad state of affairs of his life he got to work on reading the forum that Billy had set up for their show. They had come up with the idea of the website after a particularly sad meeting with the producers of their show, Ghost Adventures. The top executors of the Travel channel were started to get worried that the guys were going to run out of interesting locations they could investigate. Even though there were thousands of locations to hunt at, the producers only wanted exciting locations and let's face it, not every location turned out as planned.

Sometimes the ghost activity just didn't happen, and sometimes the ghost activity was just a cat in the alley and people who were easily spooked. So Billy had come up with the idea of having fans of the show tell them about haunted locations, like private homes, which they did not often investigate, and other places they might not have heard of.

The forums were pretty successful. They had gotten a few awesome locations from some of the fans out there. But there was also a lot of fake hauntings being reported and even more posts on just how much they loved the guys. It was a very tedious job to go through all the thousands of posts and finding the ones that reported locations and those that just are messing around. It was agreed that every month one of them would go through the posts and find what was worth looking into and what wasn't. This month, it was Nick's turn.

He got to work and started to read through the posts. Most of them were love declarations to Zak. Poor guy had more teenage girls after him then one man would want.

After a couple of hours, Nick had found only three posts that were worth looking into. He had emailed the people asking them for more information and phone numbers so he could call them. He was getting ready to take a small break, right after this last post from someone called Evie78. He clicked on the post and read the short message.

_Hi,  
I work at a school in NYC and I saw a ghost. But that is not the reason I am posting this message. I am hoping that someone can help me decipher the cryptic message this ghost told me. It was a young man, I am sure I never knew him, but he told me that he was sent to me. That was all he said. The message although slightly unnerving has me wondering who is trying to get in contact with me. I sure hope someone with more experience can help me out.  
Evie._

Nick frowned at the strange post. It was very unusual, for many reasons, but the one that really stuck out at him was that this woman was not freaked out at all that she saw a full apparition of a ghost, even after it spoke to her. Even he, an experience ghost hunter, would absolutely without a doubt be slightly overwhelmed if he would have seen a ghost appear in front of him, and speak to him.

Unsure if this post was just a joke or not he decided to email this Evie person asking for her number. He found that most fake reports never called so it was a good way to weed out the posts that were just seeking attention and the real ones.

Satisfied with his work, Nick shut the laptop down to go join his friends in playing the PlayStation for the few hours before he had to catch his flight back to Boston. He didn't tell Zak and Aaron about the strange post because he was very positive that he would never get any sort of response back.


	3. Chapter 2 - Before Sunset

**Chapter 2**

**Before sunset**

Nick parked the small Ford fiesta that he rented in front of the old brick school. Getting out he took in his surroundings. It looked like a typical New York City building, with its dirty red bricks and large black, metal fence that surrounded the school, giving it an old Gothic look. Although unlike many of the places he had investigated this place was well maintained. Then again the tuition that these kids parents probably paid the school was enough to keep it looking immaculate.

It had been three weeks since Nick had first sent an email to the teacher that claimed to have seen and talked to a full apparition. To his surprise the woman called Evie had emailed him back the next day with her work and extension number. He had spoken to the old teacher a couple of times. Well he assumed she was old. Evie was not exactly a common name and she was a teacher at a private school ... he pictured a woman in her fifties with a stern look and a wardrobe that matched the decade she was born in.

Over the phone she had stuck to her story about seeing the ghost and she had also made it clear that she did not want an investigation of the school, which was strange. In his nine years of doing Ghost Adventures he had never met anyone who did not want proof of what they saw, everyone always wanted to be validated. Her plain refusal to have the guys investigate was enough to make him suspicious of this whole thing.

After talking to Evie on the phone, he had done some research on this school and it had quite a history to it. The school was located in the heart of New York City, and in 1849 it was first opened as a brewery near what was known at the time as the five point's neighborhood. A well-known place for its dangerous gangs and high crime. The whole neighborhood was just a horrible place to be, even police officers were afraid to set foot near the five points.

Eventually the brewery shut down and the building was bought by the state to be made into a school for boys. Although the action was honorable at the time, the school became more like a prison than anything else. At the height of the Irish migration many children arriving were often left orphan and they were brought to the school. For unknown reasons the boys were not cared for properly and were often subject to terrible treatment. From being starved to daily beatings.

After the death of a boy who had been in a fight with another boy, the school was shut down and converted into a hospital and mental asylum in the 1930's, when lobotomies was a common practice for the mentally ill. Several thousands of people were subjected to such treatments, along with shocking treatments. There was no accurate numbers of deaths but it was probably in the thousands. The building remained as an asylum until the early 90's when it was bought by a private owner and made into a school for gifted children.

The place had a very dark history attached to it, and it made it a prime location for hauntings. Nick had tried to find people who might have worked there in the past, to ask them if they had any paranormal experiences, but to his surprise he could find no one. It was as if everyone who had ever worked there had just disappeared after leaving employment.

As Nick completed his frustrating research, Zak had read some of the groundwork Nick had left lying around and Zak had grown excited about the location.

-"Dude you have to get us in there."

-"The woman doesn't want us there." Nick had said gloomily.

-"What the fuck? Didn't she contact us?" Zak glanced at Nick with confusion.

-"Yeah, through the website."

-"So what the fuck does she want then?"

-"She said she saw and talked to a full apparition of a guy, and she wanted to know what his message meant."

-"What did he say?"

-"He said he was sent to her."

-"That sounds ... weird ... Does she know anyone that has died recently? Or that can talk to the dead?"

-"Not that she seemed to be aware of."

-"Maybe she is sensitive to ghost or an empath." Zak had commented thoughtfully.

Nick stared at his friend that he had known for years. If this would have happened two years ago, Zak would have had a much different reaction, but since marrying Ana, Zak had grown much more laid back and mellow. He still loved to investigate but it wasn't his first priority anymore, his wife and two and half-year old daughter, Zoe was. But if anyone deserved some happiness it was Zak.

-"Well work on her, I'd love to get in there." Zak patted Nick on the shoulder.

That was easier said than done though. Nick had called her a few more times and she still refused to let them come investigate, but she had agreed to meet him. It was at least a step closer to getting in the school to perform an investigation.

So here he was now, standing at the gates of this large school, ready to meet the strange woman who claimed to have spoken to a ghost. He rather hoped that this would be quick. He and the guys had just gotten done with an investigation in Montana. Zak would have come himself but he and Ana were in the process of moving. They had just bought a new home in Louisiana, in a small town, where the lifestyle was a bit more laid back and appropriate to raise a child. The whole crew was helping them move.

Well, everyone except for Nick. He had to be back in Boston in time for some mediation shit. Who knew getting divorced was going to be a longer affair then his marriage had turned out to be. Nick shook his head, quickly dispelling the thoughts of Julie. Now was not the time...

But it was just as well that he wasn't in Vegas. Lately he just wasn't in the mood to be around anyone, especially Zak and Ana. He did love them both, but it was hard to watch them be so happy together when everything in his own life was falling apart. The only thing that was really keeping him together was his work. He had buried himself in it. He was the one that brought several new haunted locations to the crew's attention; he booked all the places, made the phone calls and arranged the meetings. He was even doing a little private work on the side and offering his ghost hunting services to local people who might want it. Anything to keep busy.

So here he was, in New York City, ready to meet Evie and make this investigation happen.

**oOo**

It was a bit after four pm when Nick arrived. He was a little late and hoped she was still here. But then again what could an old woman have to rush home too? She was probably one of those annoying teachers that stayed late after school, grading papers and findings new ways to torture her students with long, boring assignments.

As Nick walked through the large gate, his gazed traveled to the small school yard off to the side. A few children in dark, navy blue uniforms were playing a game of basketball as happy squeals and shouts echoed through the warm afternoon air.

It was only April but it felt more like June as the sun shun brightly down. Nick pulled the sleeves up on his long-sleeved shirt and headed towards the large, ornate front doors. When he stepped into the school, the hallway was deserted, just as he had expected, but what he had not expected was the inside to be so cheery and so unlike the exterior of the school. The outside had a very old, gothic look to it. But the inside was modern and quite posh. The floors were made of a bright, shiny wood, freshly polished, and the walls were painted a bright blue with happy yellow splashes all over, making it seemed as though the sun had streaked its walls.

Lovely pictures of students art work were hung on the walls in long rows.

Nick took in his surrounding, unsure on where to go meet this teacher. She had said she would meet him at the office but since he was late she had probably assumed he stood her up and had gotten tired of waiting. Spotting the office, Nick headed for it, but all the lights were out and the door was locked. Unsure on what to do next, the soft sound some sort of machinery caught his attention. When Nick glanced in the direction it came from, he saw it was a janitor polishing the floors.

-"Hey, excuse me?" Nick called.

A man in his mid-forties looked up a bit surprise to see someone here. He stopped his polisher and approached Nick.

-"Can I help you with somethin'?" The man asked with a heavy Brooklyn accent.

-"Yeah, I'm looking for an Evie Thompson. She was supposed to meet me at the office, but I'm late."

The man's face lit up at Evie's name. It was obvious the janitor was smitten with the old teacher, but his gaze turned hard as he seemed to be assessing Nick.

-"Why, what do 'ou want with 'er?"

Nick was not at all impressed with the man's tough stare but he did want to get in here for an investigation, but he wasn't about to blur his business to him.

-"She contacted me about some work she wanted me to do for her." Nick said vaguely.

The man stared at Nick a bit longer as if trying to decide if he should let him in the school or throw him out, until he finally spoke.

-"She's in 'er office, second floor." The janitor pointed down the long corridor to a staircase. "Go up the stairs and take a right, go all the way to the end and then go right again. 'er office is the third door."

-"Thanks." Nick nodded to the janitor and headed for the stairs, pretty sure that the old man was probably going to be following him.

Once he climbed the stairs and followed the long hallway with several classrooms he came to the end where he could either turn right or left. This hallway was dark except for the sunlight that came in from the big window at the end of the corridor. He also noticed music. It was hard to discern what the music was, but the upbeat drumming and sounds became clearer the closer he got to the third door he was told to go too.

The door was partly closed as Madonna sung about opening her heart. Nick's eyebrow arched at the song playing. He somehow didn't really picture an old, stuffy history teacher listening to Madonna, but as he prepared himself to knock a shadow caught his eye from inside the room. A woman with light blond hair came spinning by; she was light on her feet and moved with ease as her hips sung to the beat.

She twirled around once, then a second time as her arms freely swung over her head, but something made her stop abruptly. She let out a small gasp and rushed to the door and wrenched it open. Nick was slightly taken aback by the woman standing in front of him. She was only a couple of inches shorter than he, she wore jeans and a t-shirt, her hair was up in a messy bun with several strands fell down her neck and framing her face.

She was slim but still with some amazing curves that made his hand itch wanting to touch her. Nick quickly blinked and moved his gaze up to her face, her luscious lips were slightly parted, as he kept going up to meet her eyes, he was greeted with bright - scolding - green eyes.

-"You know it's rude to spy on people!" She said glaring at Nick.

-"I wasn't spying." He replied back defensively.

-"No?" Her eyebrow quirked. "Well what would you call a guy standing outside someone's office and peaking in like some sort of peeping tom?"

* * *

I crossed my arms over my chest as I glared at the man in front of me. Whoever the hell he was ... I mean sure he wasn't too bad-looking I guess ... He had great hair and a killer body, but his face was slightly pale and even though he was incredibly handsome, he just looked ... unwell. Like he hadn't slept well in a while or eaten a proper meal in ages.

He was dressed in black jeans and a dark grey long sleeve, polo shirt. He looked great and smelled even better, his Ralph Lauren cologne scent carried over to me. It was obvious he wasn't some homeless man who had wandered into the school. It only left with one possibility. This was Nick, the man I was supposed to meet about my ghost.

Great. I thought. Not only had he caught me dancing around, he was absolutely gorgeous. So I did the only thing I could do. I lashed out.

-"So what do you want?" I asked in my best annoyed voice, knowing full well what he wanted.

-"I am looking for Evie Thompson? Is she here?" He asked, sounding exasperated, craning his neck to look into my room.

-"That's me. Are you Nick?"

-"You're Evie?" He said in disbelief.

-"Yeah, why?" What the hell was this guy's problem?

-"But your ... Are you sure?"

-"I think I know who I am." Okay this guy is getting on my nerves!

Nick shrugged nonchalantly.

-"Fine, okay, whatever. Let's do this then."

I opened the door wider and let him in. He walked in and suddenly my office felt very small. His large, dark frame stood in front of the window, blocking the afternoon sunlight coming in. He stood tall with his legs apart and his arms crossed. He looked slightly angry and like he had a giant chip on his shoulders, and for some reason I really wanted to pick on that chip.

I found his presence slightly unnerving and I wasn't sure why. I quickly walked to my desk, refusing to meet his stare.

-"So this ghost, he was probably my age, but it was hard to tell because you know he was slightly see-through, I think he was from the twenties or thirties, well his clothing were anyway ..."

-"Where did you see him?" Nick interrupted me.

-"Right here in my office."

-"And you saw him? A full apparition?" His tone was dripping with doubt.

-"Yeah, he was kind of floating but I could see all of him." I snapped.

-"What were you doing?"

-"Grading papers ... but I already told you all this on the phone ..."

-"Listen Mrs. Thompson."

-"Evie." I leaned against my desk and glared at Nick.

He took a step closer, because of the light at his back I could barely see his face but he almost looked like a dark angel coming at me.

-"Evie." He said in a low tone that gave my skin goose bumps. "The fact that you won't let us investigate makes me doubt your whole story."

-"Just because I won't let you investigate?"

-"It seems ... suspicious." He stopped a couple of feet away from me.

-"I'm not a liar! Are you saying that I just made up that stuff so I could get you guys to come here?" I stood up straight and balled my hands up at my sides.

-"Well I sure as hell can't think of another reason why am here." Nick said angrily.

-"Seriously?" I took a step closer and tilted my head proudly. "Aren't you full of yourself!? I saw the man, right here in my office! He told me he was sent to me, I just wanted to know why!"

Nick's face softened a bit at my distressed tone.

-"Do you know anyone who might have died recently?" He asked. I shook my head no and tried to calm my nerves. It was not easy thinking about the incident that had happened a month ago. "And you haven't seen him since?"

-"No ..."

Nick sighed and to my relief he moved to off to the side, letting the bright sun once again come in. But it did nothing to bring the tension down in the room. I couldn't understand why I felt so on edge and annoyed. I was never this rude or dry with a stranger, so why was I being this way with Nick?

-"Well listen Evie, frankly I am no medium or psychic. I am just an investigator. I can't do shit unless you let me investigate." He slowly walked to my wall and stopped to observe one of the pictures Sophie gave me. "If you are afraid that we might somehow make this spirit angry at you, I can assure you we won't do anything -"

But as Nick started to give a speech on how he would respectful and they would do their best to get me answers I wanted I felt that odd feeling overcome me. That strange feeling I had not felt in over a year. I had had such awful nightmares about a woman who I didn't know. They had plagued me for weeks, and then they had just stopped. Like they had never happened and I had not had them since.

But when I woke up from those dreams I always felt very disoriented and sick. And right now that same terrible feeling was overwhelming me. The room was far too warm, and I felt like I was suffocated. I could hear Nick speaking, but I couldn't discern any of the words he was saying. My vision blurred and my eyes watered as I strained to look at him as he turned around.

-"Evie? Are you alright?"

His voice almost sounded like it was underwater it was so muffled. I wanted to shake my head no, but I couldn't form any words as I felt my eyes roll to the back of my head and I felt myself falling to the ground.


	4. Chapter 3 - Visions

**Chapter 3**

**Visions**

Zak walked through the spacious house, avoiding boxes left and right. He slowly made his way to the back of his new home where the sun-room was located until he spotted his target. Ana, his amazing wife stood still, gazing out at the large backyard.

It had taken some time before they decided on the right house. Everything they had looked at was either too small, to plain or to boring. He wanted a house with character and that spoke to him, something unique. He had also wanted a house on a quiet street where his daughter could play without him having to worry.

When Zak and Ana had seen this early turn of the century plantation, Zak knew right away he was home, and when Ana had seen the yard, she had immediately fallen in love with it, making plans on where she wanted a garden and the swing set she had already ordered for Zoe.

A small smile curled on his lips as he recalled her excitement at all the prospect the new house brought them, and he was all too willing to let her do all those things she had planned. Ana deserved everything, and he would do his damn best to give it to her. She had been through enough. Ana had lived through more than one person should have to endured in a lifetime. But if anyone could handle it, it was Ana. His wife was the strongest woman he had ever met.

Anastasia was an empath, just like he was, but she wasn't just any regular old empath. She was a shadow empath. Her talent was so rare that one was only born every five hundred years. Ana could not only see and feel ghosts; she could step into their world. A whole world where the spirits of those who had died and now wandered this earth lived. Well she used to be able too. Until a creature called the Guardian had taken over the spirit world. He now controlled everything in that world and told Ana to never step foot there again or he would kill her.

That wouldn't have been a problem, but the Guardian wanted out of the shadow world and to come to this world, to cleanse it and Ana's blood was the key to releasing him. Zak still had no idea why the Guardian had not killed Ana when she had gone to the shadow world the last time to save him and Keane, but he hadn't.

That didn't matter to Zak though; all he knew was that if she went back the Guardian wouldn't be so kind the next time.

The problem was, there was a group out there. An order. They called themselves the order of the dragon and their goal was to release the Guardian so it could purify the planet of all human life that was not empathic and the order knew Ana was the key to opening the doorway between the two worlds. They had come after Ana before, and they would again. Now Zak went nowhere without Ana. He knew he was probably a bit over-protective but he did not care. He'd keep his family safe no matter what.

Ana was now part of the Ghost Adventures team. She came on all the investigations and had brought a lot to the show. She did most of the research and some of the investigation. Of course they kept it a secret about her special empathic abilities but she, like him she often felt and saw things which they did show on camera and the viewers loved her. It also had appeased all the gossip magazines and websites on the mysterious wife to the hottest ghost hunter out there.

It also gave Zak an excuse to have Ana with him, although he didn't let her stay on every investigation. Some were just too violent or dangerous and he didn't want her near those places. They still didn't fully understand her connection to the dead and he had no idea if the Guardian was in contact with the violent or demonic spirits. So she stayed with Billy in their base camp.

Zak blinked, bringing him back to the present; he slowly approached his wife from behind. He tiptoed to Ana, who seemed to be lost in thought. When he was close enough he wrapped his arms around her from behind, she let out a small gasp of surprise but after glancing down and recognizing her husband's hands and arms she lost no time in leaning back into him as his arms tighten around her. She rested her head back on his broad shoulder.

-"Hey." She whispered happily, closing her eyes and inhaling deeply.

-"What are you doing out here all alone?" Zak said softly, bending his head down.

-"I just needed a couple of minutes to myself."

Zak placed his lips on her neck and trailed a series of kisses along her slender neck.

-"I agree." He mumbled with his lips against her skin. "We could use a few minutes to ourselves."

Ana let out a soft laughed, which soon turned to a moan as Zak trailed kisses down to her shoulder, but as he did so he suddenly felt Ana go limp in his arms and he knew something was wrong. Tightening his grasped, Ana's legs gave out and her head drooped forward.

-"Ana?" Zak shook her slightly with no response from her. "Aaron! Keane!" He yelled. "Get in here, now!"

* * *

Nick had to admit, he was acting like a total ass. It wasn't like him; he usually was level-headed and cool in most situations, especially when it came to dealing with new people. Aaron was a little too silly and goofy and even though he was a great guy, he sometimes came off as not being as professional because of his joking and silliness. And then there was Zak, who usually was the smooth one when he wanted to be, but since getting married, Zak was leery of everyone he met and extremely cautious of strangers. That left Nick to be the proper delegate for the group, who had always been the sensible one. At least until he met Evie.

He couldn't explain what it was about her but as soon as he had laid eyes on her, he wanted to grab her and kiss her, and that feeling alone was enough to tick him off. He didn't want to feel this way about anyone, especially another woman. He had enough of the opposite sex to last him a lifetime.

Nick rambled on about how he and the guys needed to come in and do a proper investigation, keeping his eyes on Evie's wall behind her desk. Talking was keeping his temper in check.

Strangely Evie's wall was helping him keep his cool. Her wall was loaded with pictures she had stuck on. All of them of different sceneries but everyone one of them soothing, from beautiful beaches to shots of the evening sky. Whoever the photographer was had quite an eye for the serene beauty of nature and it was obvious that Evie thought so as well because her whole wall was covered with these amazing photos.

-" ... I understand that you want answers but we really can't do that unless we come in and do a full investigation –"

Nick paused as he heard a shuffling behind him. Evie had been abnormally quiet and when he turned around he saw why. Evie's eyes were half closed and glazed over. Her head lolled to one side then other as her body wavered backwards, then forward. He could tell that she was going limp and wouldn't be able to stand up much longer. Without further thought, Nick skillfully jumped over the desk and rushed to Evie's side just as she started to fall forward, Nick caught her in his arms with ease.

-"I've got you." He said soothingly.

He gently cradled her body in his arms while he carefully got on the ground and sat down. Never letting go of Evie. Seconds later, Evie moaned and her head twisted from one side to the other until she was facing his chest, he felt her inhale deeply and a small smile curled onto her lips. As he watched her, he was in awe at how lovely she was. She had full lips and a small upturned nose. But the moment was all too soon over when her eyes fluttered open and her expression turn to horror as she realized she was on the ground.

-"What happened?" She asked, trying to get up but Nick refused to let her go.

-"Take it easy ... you just passed out."

She suddenly started to tremble. Her face paled and her eyes tear up.

-"Not again ..." She whispered. She pushed at his chest with a shaky hand trying to stand up but it was obvious that the action had made her extremely dizzy. Just as quick she yanked her hand back and grabbed her forehead with a groan. "Ugh."

Nick waited a couple of minutes as she clutched her forehead and he felt her breathing in deeply and then slowly exhale. When she finally lifted her head up she looked a bit better and this time he helped her stand up and get into her office chair. He carefully watched her grab her bottle of water and take a long drink. As he watched her, he knew one thing, whatever had just happened, it had scared the living hell out of her.

-"What did you mean, not again? You've passed out before, are you sick?" Nick finally asked quietly.

Evie shook her head no. Most of her hair was out of its messy bun and he could see that she had very blonde hair; it was almost a whitish blonde, which reached a bit past her shoulders.

-"I'm not sick ... I don't think." She mumbled, setting her plastic bottle down on the desk.

-"Well what the hell was that? Cause that sure scared the shit out of me."

-"I just - " Evie rested her head on the back of her chair and let out a long sigh. "This hasn't happened in a long time ... But I'm fine, this will pass."

Nick eyed her suspiciously but he didn't want to press the issue. He didn't even know this woman; he couldn't start demanding explanations on her health when he needed to be nice to get her to agree on the investigation. He was silent for a few more moments before speaking again.

-"Look, I know this isn't the best time but ..." Nick crouched down next to Evie. He had a funny feeling that whatever was happening to her was somehow supernatural. "I can help you." He met her bright green eyes, which held a trace of unshed tears and so much fear; he set his hand on hers, which rested on the arm of the chair. "Whatever is going on here, you need answers. Just let me have one night here, no cameras, no guys, just me and you. Then you'll see that we are totally professional and maybe then you will trust us to investigate here properly."

Nick had no idea why the hell he had just offered that. He had to be in Boston in three hours! But looking at her now and her scared and disheveled state, he couldn't leave...

Evie cleared her throat.

-"It's not that I don't want you to investigate ..." She said softly. "I'm just a teacher ... when I tried to get the approval of the principal for this he flat-out refused."

Nick felt himself stiffen. He had not seen that coming, Evie had led him on, and she never had any intentions on letting him investigate.

* * *

I watched Nick's face fall as I told him that it wasn't my choice if he could investigate or not. I wasn't sure why but seeing him so disappointed made me upset with myself.

-"I'm sorry, I didn't tell you ..." I blushed. "I just thought that no one would even talk to me if I said that you could never come investigate ... I never thought that you would come all the way out here just to try to convince me." I felt guilty for technically leading him on in thinking he had a chance in looking into this school.

Nick stood up and to my dismay moved away.

For some reason I felt better when he was near me. I was actually barely holding myself together right now. It had happened again, I had seen her again. I had not seen the woman with the long brown hair in almost two years. What was even more unnerving was that this time I had passed out. That had never happened. When I did see her before, I was usually already sleeping; I had hoped that they were only dreams...

Seeing her had been very brief. But it was different this time. It had felt different. When I saw her, she looked as scared as I felt, but before either one of us could speak we heard laughter ... but not good happy laughing, no, this was like something you heard in a horror movies and the bad guy cackled like a madman. Seconds after the girl was gone and I woke up in Nick's arms.

Which had not been entirely unpleasant. His strong arms and warm scent had been intoxicating enough that I would consider fainting again just to get another few minutes in his arms. As I thought about this new plan, Nick had gathered his jacket and headed for my office door.

-"Since I can't investigate there is really nothing I can do for you." He said stiffly, obviously very annoyed.

I quickly stood up and scrambled to the door forgetting my dizziness.

-"But, I thought you were going to help me with figuring out what the ghost wanted from me!" I rushed over and blocked the door.

-"Look, I have no idea what he meant or if you even saw what you think you saw. I can't do shit unless I get a vibe for this place." He glared at me.

-"Are you calling me a liar?"

-"Well you've already proven that you are a liar, Miss Thompson." He said his voice full of venom.

Okay he had a point, sort of...

-"I didn't lie." I said offended. "I just ... withheld information!"

-"Same fucking thing!"

What the hell was this guy's problem? So I had not told him about the principal ... it wasn't like it was a huge thing, I couldn't understand why he was so upset. All because he couldn't investigate this school?

-"If this is because you think you wasted your time, I can pay you for your trouble."

But that statement just seemed to make Nick even angrier. With a shove he pushed me aside and wrenched the door open, stomping out of my office. Dumbfounded that he had actually just pushed me to get out, I quickly recovered and rushed out to the corridor to see him rounding the corner at the end of the hallway.

-"Wait!" I yelled. "Please ... Just wait a minute!" I called rushing over to catch him. I couldn't let him leave. He was my only hope in getting the answers I needed. Coming around the corner I crashed into Nick's hard chest. I grabbed his arm to stabilize myself but seeing his hate filled looked I removed my hand from him with speed.

He crossed his arms and looked down at me but didn't say anything. I straightened my shirt and tried my best to ignore his hateful look.

-"You can't go! What about the ghost ... he told me he was sent to me! What if he comes back?" He couldn't go! I needed him, he was my only hope! I didn't want to beg ... I really didn't want to beg ... especially to this arrogant guy, but I would if I had too. I wasn't sure what bothered me more, the fact that he thought I was making this up or that this ghost might come back ... That's when the idea hit me. "What if ... what if we come back after it gets dark and investigate."

Nick's face softened a bit as he seemed to be thinking about what I had just said. He brushed past me and took a few steps, looking around the dark corridor.

-"Sneak back in here?"

-"Yeah, I have a key to the back because I sometimes stay late, we can come back after nine, the janitors are all gone by then. I'll prove it to you that I'm not a liar."

Nick kept his back to me but I saw his head give a curt nod.

-"Fine. We'll come back after dark." He turned to me and his dark eyes set on mine, I thought I saw something flare but he quickly walked by me and headed for the exit.

* * *

-"Ana, sweetie?"

Zak gently brushed his fingers along Ana's face as she started to stir. When she cracked her eyes open, Zak was leaning over her, looking at her with concern. Blinking a couple of times she looked around and saw Aaron, Keane and Billy all leaning down as well, staring at her. She furrowed her brow trying to remember what happened ... Her head throbbed and she felt slightly ill.

She tried to sit up but Zak kept a firm grip on her.

-"Ana, what happened?" Zak asked again.

-"She saw her again ... You saw her again didn't you, Anastasia?" Keane's deep voice spoke with its familiar accent.

-"I –" Ana tried to remember but everything was so fuzzy.

Keane crouched down next to her and gave her a sympathetic look.

-"You are having a hard time remembering?"

She slowly nodded, because anything to fast was made her feel even dizzier. Keane reached out and put his hand on Ana's, he then closed his eyes and like a bolt of lightning had struck her Ana's whole body stiffen and she gasped for air. Her eyes shut tightly as tears stung them.

-"What the fuck did you do?" Zak snapped pulling her away from Keane, trying to pull Ana away from Keane.

-"Just helping her remember." Keane said nonchalantly, not seeming to concerned.

Ana let out a small shriek as her eyes opened. Everyone jumped back for a moment; her usual warm, hazel eyes were blazing with a fiery flame. Then seconds later it was gone and she sagged into Zak's arms.

-"I saw her ..." She whispered, sounding exhausted. "I saw her again."

Zak furrowed his brow for a moment.

-"Your half-sister?" Ana slowly nodded. "But you haven't seen her in almost two years!"

Ana swallowed thickly.

-"I saw Nick too ... Nick was there." She whispered.

Zak looked up at Aaron with concern but there was no need, Aaron was already digging his phone out of his pocket, getting ready to dial Nick's number.

* * *

**A/N:**

**I really hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Please if you did, let me know! Write a quick comment and vote for this chapter, it helps me out greatly in knowing that you all enjoyed it.**

**Thank you again for all your faithful reading.**

**I have another Zak story (unrelated to this one), called Haunted. Check it out! :)**


End file.
